Gurugram, Oct 7: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 25 years at the helm of government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday described October 7 as a ‘golden and epoch-making day in the history of Indian democracy.

HM Shah said that a person born into a poor family had, through his abilities and by taking crores of people along with him, created a record of serving as Chief Minister and Prime Minister for 25 consecutive years.

HM Shah attended the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha – Seva Jyoti Yatra’ organised in Gurugram under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan to mark the completion of 25 years of PM Modi’s public service.

Addressing the gathering, HM Shah said, “October 7 marks a golden and epoch-making day in the history of Indian democracy. Today, a person born into a poor family has, through his abilities and by taking crores of people along, set a record of serving as Chief Minister and Prime Minister for 25 consecutive years. That person is our beloved leader, Narendra Modi.”

“Whenever the history of India is written, these 25 years will be written in golden letters. These 25 years have seen freedom from poverty, a secure India, the abrogation of Article 370, the end of Naxalism, the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi and Kashi Vishwanath temples, infrastructure being taken to unprecedented levels, and 25 crore poor people being lifted above the poverty line,” he said.

HM Shah also spoke about the ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’, saying that young people would carry a torch for around 800 metres and install it at a designated crossing.

“We have just heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and now, 800 metres from here, young people will take out a ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ and install the torch at the designated crossing. I will light the torch in your presence with CM Nayab Singh Saini and flag off the youth for the ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’. I urge all of you to join the yatra in as large numbers as possible,” he said.

“These 25 years are about the welfare of citizens; it is 25 years of the country’s pride. On this day, I pray to God to grant PM Modi a long and healthy life and allow him to lead the country for many more years,” the Home Minister said.

New Delhi, Oct 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday compared the situation of the country before he became the Prime Minister in 2014, which he described as “immersed in despair and disappointment”, with the current situation of the country under the BJP-led NDA government.

Taking a stinging jibe at the previous governments, PM Modi said that “formidable challenges” stood before the nation; however, now, he said that the “picture has changed completely”. He said the nation has witnessed a transformation from “policy paralysis” to “reform express”.

Addressing the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha in New Delhi, PM Modi said, “In 2014, the country expanded my responsibilities and broadened the scope of my service as the Prime Servant. Even then, formidable challenges stood before the country. Problems seemed to be everywhere, and every citizen was looking for a new path. Regarding India’s economy, the world had started saying, ‘It’s a gone case’. There was no growth to be seen anywhere, inflation was touching the sky, and a country immersed in despair and disappointment once again needed a new sense of confidence.”

He said that when he came to power in 2014, he did what he knew best. “I called upon the collective strength of crores of Indians and once again told them, ‘We will do it!'”

“And today, 12 years later, the picture has changed completely,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that when a crisis situation occurred during the previous government’s tenure, the Indian economy would be “shaken”. “Today, when a crisis occurs, India’s strength and resilience are discussed,” he said.

“Back then, there was talk of policy paralysis, and today there is talk of the reforms express. Earlier, ways were being found to increase imports, and today new export records are being set. Earlier, we imported even the mobile phones we needed, and today Made-in-India mobile phones are making their mark. Earlier, blackouts across India would become global headlines, and today India’s solar power capacity is being discussed,” he said.

Another “excellent example” of this story of change is agriculture, according to PM Modi. Since Independence, he said, if there has been a decade in which agricultural growth has remained consistently the highest, it is the current decade.

“The decade from 2015 to 2025 has broken all records for agricultural growth.”

The Prime Minister further asserted that even among the major countries known for agriculture, growth has not been this rapid. “This happens only when the intentions are clear, and the policies are clear.”

PM Modi said that ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ has been the “foundation of good governance” for him.

“One of the major tragedies of our country has been that society was divided along voting lines for political purposes. Just think, if water does not reach the fields, who suffers? Are only farmers of one caste affected by it? If electricity is not available, does darkness prevail only in the homes of one community? The answer to all these questions is no. If the problem affects everyone, the solution should also be for everyone,” he said.

He said that his government worked towards saturation — meaning that every beneficiary is covered, no eligible person is left out, no rightful beneficiary is left behind, and no one can deprive another person of their rightful benefits.

“This is saturation, and this is the real story of change,” he added.

New Delhi, Oct 7: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had been “relentlessly exposing” what he described as a “vote chori conspiracy”, and criticised the registration of an FIR following the Opposition’s protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, “For almost two years now, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been relentlessly exposing, through factual evidence, the Vote Chori conspiracy hatched between the PM & the HM on one side and the CEC on the other.”

He alleged that “crores of genuine voters” had lost their constitutional right to vote through what he called the “atrocious process of SIR – Shahenshah Instigated Removal”.

Ramesh further said that when Rahul Gandhi adopted the method of “Satyagraha” to highlight what the Congress described as injustices arising from SIR, the Delhi Police registered an FIR against him and other leaders.

“And when the LOP-LS adopts the method of satyagraha to highlight the injustices of SIR, the Delhi Police registers an FIR against him and other leaders.”

“The diabolical duo is nervous, rattled and desperate. The writing on the wall is clear,” Ramesh said in his post.

His remarks came after Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were booked along with others in connection with their entry into the Akashwani Bhawan premises during Tuesday’s Opposition protest. The police case followed the INDIA bloc’s march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters, during which the protesters were stopped near Akashwani Bhawan.

The Gandhi siblings and other INDIA bloc leaders were subsequently detained by the Delhi Police after they remained at the premises for several hours. They were later released.

The leaders had forcibly entered and gathered on the Akashwani Bhawan campus after being prevented from proceeding towards the Election Commission office. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders staged a sit-in on the premises, demanding action on the electoral-roll revision exercise and seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were among those who forcibly entered the premises through the reception gate and later sat under a tree. Police personnel asked the protesters to vacate the area, but the leaders continued their sit-in.